Who Is Mike Johnston ?

Mike Johnston obviously has lack of control over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game versus the Red Wings with five Pens in the penalty box. On national TV no less. Discipline starts behind the bench. There was none this game.

Penguins lead the league in penalty minutes. That's a cold hard fact. Most of them have been due to lack of discipline. Quite a few cost us games.

Penguins also lead the league in giving up short handed goals. Well coached teams do not have this problem.

The calls from the referees have been atrocious this season to say the least. In his book Johnston said that you never win an argument with a referee and that it's his and the team Captain's responsibility to get the facts from the refs. Again too many times have we seen Pens who are not the Captain do that and get on the bad side of them. And Johnston should get an explanation and plead His teams case. When this happens you gain the confidence of your team. Didn't see much of this at all.

And the numerous blunders in arguably the most important Pens game since 2009. Putting Sutter in on a critical face off who's only at 33% and Crosby as a winger ? They scored right after that. And before that whole blowing the lead thing, why not employ what even an AHL team can execute to perfection - a Neutral zone trap? Your percentages will tell you that when its executed properly it will shut down even desperate teams. And it doesn't take the top five players in the league to do this.

Looking at Johnston behind the bench. No confidence whatsoever. The players can see that. The opposition sees that. And the fans see that.

Book co-authored by Mike Johnston

Pittsburgh Penguins Season In Pictures

Below are several pictures from the 2014-2015 Season for the Pittsburgh Penguins:

Crosby looking focused during the loss to the Senators 4/7/2015

MAF sporting the new Pens alternate jersey

Loss to the Flyers 4/5/2015

Five Pittsburgh Penguins In The Penalty Box 3/15/2015

Pens Playing Poker







 

Head Coach Mike Johnston

Mike Lange honored for his 40 years as the voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Our "Pens Den"

Our "Pens Den"

Our "Pens Den"

The best looking female Pens fan ever !

We Are Not In Kansas Anymore

The past 6 seasons the Pens have been in Kansas heading into the playoffs. "Well Toto it looks like we're not in Kansas anymore".

We've made the playoffs every year since 2006. There's the old saying "to whom much has been given, much is required". When you have arguably the two best players in the world, expectations should be high. This season has been incredibly frustrating from a fan perspective. Look at the record up to 12/31/14 and after 1/1/15. The core of this team is intact.

Everyone asks why ? Why are the Pens playing their worst hockey since 2009 ? Well the well oiled excuse machine has generated several "problems":

Problem is not injuries although Pens have had their fair share.

Problem is not officiating although there have been some horrific calls and non calls go against the Pens.

Problem is not the Pens are not a physical team although they could use a couple of smart big physical agitators.

Problem is a lack of leadership on the ice and behind the bench. The game against the Red Wings was one of the greatest examples this season of the lack of leadership with 5 Pens in the penalty box. Total lack of discipline and composure. Last night’s game against Ottawa was truly epic. When you are up 3-0 in the most meaningful game in years, you don’t blow it. You treat it like a Game 7 and do everything you can to win. You don’t put in Sutter to take a crucial faceoff with the game on the line. You block shots. And you make decisions like employing a neutral zone trap to shut them down.

Numerous blogs employ graphs, charts, and excellent breakdowns. No fault with any of them but this doesn’t take a Ph.D. to discern what is wrong with the Pens.

Shero has created problems that will take years to resolve. Hind sight is always 20/20 but if the Pens just fired him and reigned in Byslma, we would not be at this point. But Byslma was guilty by association. Shero was probably the worst GM the Pens had with JR not too far behind. There had to have been better GM candidates than JR but the reason he was hired is that they are grooming his assistant to take over in a year or two. That's not going to work. The only move that JR did that has worked was the Neal trade. Everything else has been an epic failure. And the bungling of hiring MJ was a sincere joke. If you remember, JR had picked out the one assistant coach of the Kings - but they locked him up. Plan B was Desardins but he bolted for the Cannucks when he was told he couldn't choose his staff. We ended up with Plan C in MJ who is great x's and o's guy but a poor motivator. My feeling is that the Pens should have pursued Guy Boucher but he was under contract I believe.

I'm a die hard Pens fan through and through but there will be significant changes that are needed to get them back on course to make a serious run for the Cup. Good luck to them on Friday against the Islanders and hopefully in the playoffs. Let's Go Pens !